Yvonne Blomer explores birds and their taming through language—the Blackbird as human soul, the Pelican as atonement, the Ostrich as cowardice, and the Raven as trickster, the nearest bird to God. She touches on mythology, biblical texts, and science to ask if poetry comes as close to damaging the wild things of the world as Audubon did in his collecting of birds to create the paintings. Mimesis, Plato argues, damages the soul, but Blomer asks: what does it do to the other creatures of the world?

PRAISE FOR YVONNE BLOMER:

“…try to follow a bird, try to glimpse it, and you’ll find yourself captive, compelled to follow – deep into the woods, into language, into story and myth. Raven unmuzzles the sky that surrounds bird’s flight, shows you “heart ring/ heart beat/the finger-picked song/of the body letting go, leaping.” Lyrical and intelligent, Blomer articulates what Seamus Heaney hopes for in poetry, namely, “the moment when the bird sings very close to the music of what happens.” — Cornelia Hoogland, author of Woods Wolf Girl

“…a gorgeous blend of religiosity and ornithology that through the stillness of observation evokes the airborne world as if gravity itself were speaking. There is great richness of expression in these poems… Blomer¹s voice both towers and glides.”— Barry Dempster, author of Invisible Dogs

Style suggestions

Hard Ass is a daring and bold collection of poetry, filled with passion and anger. McCartney skillfully hones her craft, yet the poet’s confessional voice feels raw and honest as if she merely purged her words onto the page….

Natural Disasters is the debut poetry collection from Andrea MacPherson. It explores memory and history, asking if it is possible to inherit the past and the generational complexities that come along with it. Stories of lost sisters and marriages based on card games combine with the immediate and personal responses to wild fires and collapsed schoolhouses.